Inside San Quentin’s marathon club: ‘For that day they are runners, not criminals’

A new documentary takes a look at 1000 Mile Club, based out of the notorious California prison, that gives inmates a special opportunity

Running a marathon usually means going from point A to point B, witnessing some of the best sites a city has to offer. Not at San Quentin, the oldest, most notorious prison in California and home to the biggest death row in America. Here incarcerated men run 105 laps around a crowded yard, navigating a slope, 90-degree turns and monotony on a makeshift track. They are not chasing medals but the chance to be defined by more than their crimes.

“It’s a goal and, for many of these men, they never had goals in their life, they didn’t have anything to look forward to,” says Christine Yoo, director of 26.2 to Life, an ESPN documentary about the annual San Quentin Prison Marathon. “Working up towards that marathon, when someone suddenly can run five miles, that’s a huge confidence builder.